The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| ‘Lincoln,’ ‘Argo’ in tight race as Oscars roll out red carpet Posted: 24 Feb 2013 07:27 AM PST  People look at an Oscar statue during preparations for the 85th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California February 23, 2013. — Reuters pic With several contests too close to call, a slate of big box office hits to celebrate and an unpredictable first-time host in Seth MacFarlane, movie fans could be in for surprises when the curtain rises on the 85th annual Academy Awards. Before the festivities begin, nominees including Jennifer Lawrence, Hugh Jackman, Sally Field, Jessica Chastain, British singer Adele and "Argo" producer George Clooney, along with performers Barbra Streisand and Jennifer Hudson will parade along the 500-ft long (152 meter) red carpet before dozens of photographers and camera crews. Inside Hollywood's Dolby Theatre, Academy Awards history could be re-written. Daniel Day-Lewis as US President Abraham Lincoln is considered an unstoppable force to become the first man to win three Best Actor Oscars. Buzz is building over a possible late upset by France's Emmanuelle Riva, 86, in the Best Actress contest that would make the star of harrowing Austrian entry "Amour" the oldest person ever to win an acting Oscar. "Lincoln" goes into today's three-hour plus ceremony with a leading 12 nominations, including a directing nod for double Oscar winner Steven Spielberg. But its front-runner Best Picture status has been dented by the six-week victory streak enjoyed at other Hollywood awards by Ben Affleck's "Argo." "It's been an interesting year," said Matt Atchity, editor in chief of movie review website Rotten Tomatoes. "I think 'Argo' probably has the best shot. It's certainly got the momentum. It has won so many top awards, and I think it's probably the movie to beat," Atchity told Reuters. If "Argo" does prevail for the top prize, it will be the first movie to win Best Picture without its director even getting a nomination since "Driving Miss Daisy" in 1990. Worker Shawn Schull puts up an Oscars sign during preparation on the red carpet for the 85th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, February 23, 2013. — Reuters pic Musical "Les Miserables," comedy "Silver Linings Playbook," shipwreck tale "Life of Pi," Osama bin laden thriller "Zero Dark Thirty," slavery Western "Django Unchained," indie film "Beasts of the Southern Wild," and "Amour" round out the contenders for the best film of 2012. In other categories, only Anne Hathaway is considered a sure bet to take home a golden statuette after starving herself and chopping off her long brown locks for her supporting turn as tragic heroine Fantine in "Les Miserables. Awards pundits says Spielberg could lose out in the director's race to Taiwan's Ang Lee for his technical and imaginative feat in filming fantastical adventure "Life of Pi" with a cast of exotic animals. And the supporting actor Oscar could go to any of the five nominees — Robert De Niro ("Silver Linings Playbook"), Alan Arkin ("Argo"), Christoph Waltz ("Django Unchained"), Tommy Lee Jones ("Lincoln") and Philip Seymour Hoffman ("The Master"). The Oscar winners are chosen in secret ballots by some 5,800 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and handed out before an audience of 3,300 guests and tens of millions more watching around the world on television. After several years of nominating little-seen movies, this year's nine Best Picture contenders have pulled in more than US$2 billion (RM6 billion) in tickets worldwide.  Celebrity stand ins gather on the red carpet for rehearsals outside the Dolby Theatre during Oscar preparations for the 85th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California February 23, 2013. — Reuters pic Producers are promising a fast-paced show packed with music and big performances. But the man getting the early attention will be MacFarlane, the provocative comedian behind animated TV series "Family Guy" and an unknown quantity as Oscar host. "We are not going to know what works until we put it out there and see what plays in front of an audience," co-producer Craig Zadan said. "It's a live show and that is always unpredictable. Once the train has left the station, whatever happens, happens." The Academy Awards will be broadcast live on ABC television in the United States, starting at 5pm PST (0100 GMT). — Reuters |
| Britain’s first Oscar-winning animator Bob Godfrey dies at 91 Posted: 24 Feb 2013 01:53 AM PST LONDON, Feb 24 — Britain's first Oscar-winning animator Bob Godfrey, whose work ranged from the children's TV cartoon "Roobarb" to mock-erotic movies like "Kama Sutra Rides Again", has died aged 91, his family told the BBC on Friday. Godfrey, often referred to as "The Godfather of British Animation", was born in Australia but educated in England and started his career as a graphic artist in London in the 1930s before gaining work in the film industry. He was the first British animator to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for his 1975 musical comedy "Great", about civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Godfrey was nominated three other times for Oscars, including for his 1971 short film "Kama Sutra Rides Again", one of his mock-erotic exploitation films that focused on the hypocrisy of British attitudes towards sex. Filmmaker Stanley Kubrick so admired the film that he screened it alongside UK showings of "A Clockwork Orange". "Much of Godfrey's work has been predicated on satirising the foibles and minutiae of what it means to be 'British'," said his biography on the British Film Institute website. For nearly 50 years Godfrey worked with some of animation's biggest names including Monty Python's Terry Gilliam, poking fun at orthodoxy and establishment thinking. He retired in 1999. His work ran along two tracks — adult material and quirky children's cartoons, which he wanted to appeal to adults too. He was known for his children's cartoons "Roobarb", about a warring cat and dog, and "Henry's Cat". His death comes after the death today of veteran actor Richard Briers, aged 79, who narrated "Roobarb" and also the character of Brunel in Godfrey's film "Great". Aardman Animations studio founder Peter Lord tweeted: "Dear old Bob Godfrey is no more. A great influence and inspiration to me and my generation of animators. Also a lovely bloke." In an interview with the Guardian in 2001, Godfrey said he had one professional regret. "I'd love to have done a full-length feature but I can't seem to stretch myself to that length," he told the newspaper. "When you look at my films, they appear to be a series of 30-second commercials cut together. I'm a short distance man whether I like it or not." — Reuters |
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